


Northern Lights

by blingyeol



Category: SHINee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Angst, Bittersweet, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-28
Updated: 2015-02-05
Packaged: 2018-03-07 16:54:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3177356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blingyeol/pseuds/blingyeol
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kim Jonghyun’s first memory of the extraordinary stuff he had been able to do revolved around a particularly boring family dinner.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Kim Jonghyun’s first memory of the extraordinary stuff he had been able to do revolved around a particularly boring family dinner. There were about ten people present, mostly distant relatives he didn’t remember seeing before, and his mother. He was a skinny boy of 9, average height and rather hyperactive nature.

When the clock on the wall right in front of him struck eight, Jonghyun wasn’t far from slamming his head onto the empty plate on the table. The dinner started around six and he’s just had about enough. At that time, his eyes focused on the oddly shaped salt cellar and he started to imagine things. The glass reshaping itself, into various animals and flowers, people, too. It didn’t really occur to him that it wasn’t just his imagination until his cousin pointed it out.

“Look, it’s a teddy bear!” the slightly older girl exclaimed, grabbing Jonghyun’s attention.

He was seeing a teddy bear all right. But the problem was he didn’t tell anyone and yet this little girl saw it too. Thankfully, no one at the table paid any attention to the kids, and so they just stared at each other, questions popping in their heads. Neither of them wanted to speak first, though. _Can you see it too?_   Jonghyun wanted to confirm but something told him he shouldn’t try. There was an odd sensation of something secret getting away.

  


Years later, there would be answers to a thousand and one questions that Jonghyun’s mind produced whenever something as strange as a salt cellar turning into a teddy bear happened. Such moments weren’t scarce, either. During one of such occurrences, his best friend Kim Kibum happened to witness it. Jonghyun was ready to deny any remarks about the rice turning green - really, it wasn’t green at all, or maybe it was because he mixed it with seaweed, isn’t it perfectly obvious?

Instead, Kibum opened up with a simple: “So you can do such stuff too, huh.”

A mix of confusion ran through Jonghyun’s mind and he wasn’t sure how to react. He decided to play safe for the start. “What do you mean?”

“I’m sayin’ you can do magic, too,” Kibum mumbled with his mouth full. “Just like me.”

“What?” If Jonghyun wasn’t surprised by now, this made him utterly confused. He dropped his chopsticks and stared at his friend, whose expression still didn’t shift from a carefree one.

“To be honest I had a suspicion,” Kibum continued, still chewing on his lunch. “Saw you do such things once or twice but every time it was something that could be explained by something perfectly normal. Anyway,” Kibum gulped and conjured up a smile. “I’ll lead you to a place after school. You’re gonna like it.”

 

Kim Jonghyun did like the place. It was a truly magical sort of place that any thirteen years old child would adore. First they went through an ordinary library, they weaved their way past students cramming for exams until they ended up in front of a locked door. Kibum input a code onto its display and it opened, leading them into a dark hallway. It lit up as they moved forward and at the end was another door with another code. Kibum seemed to know them all.

By the time Jonghyun stepped into the room fully, his mouth was agape and eyes skimming everything - from the tall libraries decorated by flickering garlands that resembled living butterflies to the countless half-transparent animals running around. Up on the high ceiling stars twinkled at him from the far left corner, while sun shined at him from the right one. He spotted an illuminated board that displayed various graphs and notes, not unlike a classroom board, except it felt magical. That was the word to describe the whole room, Jonghyun realized.

Among this wonderland were five children, some sitting by the tables, some crouching on the floor. A small boy that was closest to them had a dog in his arms - a real one, not a transparent ghost or whatever those things were. He had a hand placed on his stomach and there was nothing visible happening, but Jonghyun could _feel_ it. He felt the energy flowing through the boy’s hand, into the tiny dog’s body and something inside stirring, moving away or perhaps disappearing completely.

It fascinated him so much that he stepped closer, crouched next to the boy with the dog and watched. The boy - he could’ve been just slightly older than Jonghyun - shot him a wide smile and invited him in by saying “Now watch.”

It was mesmerizing. The dog looked tired and lifeless when Jonghyun noticed him for the first time. The boy moved his hand over his tummy, slowly at first, then faster, until the dog let out muffled barks and eventually shot up. Jonghyun watched him run around and he knew exactly what had just happened. The boy healed the dog.

“How did you do that?” Jonghyun asked, his eyes sparkling with interest.

The boy smiled at him again, lips curled up as far as they could possibly be, eyes shaped like half-moons. There was pure kindness in that smile, in that boy. “I can heal. Have any scratches?”

“Not really,” Jonghyun responded but thought real hard because he did want to give it a try.

“Come to me when you do,” the boy said cheerfully. “I’m Jinki by the way. Lee Jinki.”

“Kim Jonghyun.” He savoured the moment that somehow felt really important to him and after a few seconds he asked: “What is this place?”

“A classroom,” Kibum started explaining. “But there’s no maths and english, there’s magic instead!”

It was quite unbelievable, even to a thirteen years old child. Jonghyun knew he did a few odd things from time to time but he had always blamed it on his wild imagination. However this felt quite real and no matter how hard he tried, he wouldn’t wake up.

Jinki continued where Kibum left, explaining how there are a few teachers who teach the kids do magic but it’s not really an official school. They go there after their ordinary classes are over, during the weekends or simply whenever they can spare time. All of the children there can do various things - conjure things, change shapes, heal.

After the initial shock, Jonghyun moved onto a phase where he wanted to ask about everything, possibly in one breath. “Can you do absolutely anything? Like teleport anywhere you want? Or conjure a feast of yummy food? Or-”

“Calm down,” Kibum interrupted, giggling. “You’ll have months and years for all that. First we’ll introduce you to the teachers, ok?”

Jonghyun nodded but when Kibum ran off, he turned to Jinki and started all over. “Do we get to become real magicians? Like in Harry Potter? Work for the Ministry of Magic when we grow up?”

“There’s no Ministry of Magic,” Jinki corrected him. “But we could form it.”

Jonghyun grinned and said: “Deal.”

“I get to be the Minister, though,” Jinki went on, “since I’ve been here longer. You get to be the… Second Minister.”

They continued for a few more minutes, until Kibum came back. By that time, Jonghyun knew two things: he had a new future goal, that is to become a Second Minister at the Ministry of Magic they would form together with Jinki. The other thing was that he liked the boy.

Jonghyun’s best friend brought an adult with him, a man close to fifty perhaps. Said man greeted him and welcomed him into the “world of miracles” as he called the classroom. Or maybe he meant the whole magical world that must surely exist somewhere behind more doors with codes.

“You’ll join Kibum who will guide you around. He’s a newbie as well, so you can learn together,” the man announced and motioned to another child sitting at a desk. “This here is Minho, he’s my son and he’s responsible for bringing Kibum in, so you can ask him if you need anything.”

Minho stood up and hesitantly walked towards them. He was a tall boy for his age, Jonghyun noted. They exchanged introductions and smiled. Minho went on introducing him to the other kids as well but at the end of it, Jonghyun remembered only Jinki and him and the fact that he’ll be attending magic classes.

On their way back home together - because Kibum lived just across the street - they talked a lot, or more specifically Jonghyun asked a lot and Kibum tried to answer. Needless to say he couldn’t fully satisfy Jonghyun’s curiosity as he admitted to being quite a newbie as well, only a few months of attending the magic classes.

“So, what do you think about all this magical stuff?” Kibum inquired when they reached the narrow uphill street that was their home address.

Jonghyun stopped by the fence and exclaimed: “It’s fantastic. I still can’t believe it’s real.”

“Me neither,” agreed Kibum.

“It’s something so odd and rare, how do we even know if we’re not dreaming or imagining things?” Jonghyun speculated, restlessly fidgeting on the spot. “It’s like seeing a UFO. Or a shooting star. Or the Northern Lights.”

“Shooting stars and Northern Lights do exist though,” Kibum noted.

“Yeah, but they’re rare. Like this, like us.” It really did appear that way to Jonghyun. There had to be just a couple of those who use magic, otherwise it would be known to everyone. “Northern Lights,” Jonghyun repeated while his mind wandered back to the magical classroom. It seemed a fitting name for it, with all the colours and lights that the magic inside created.


	2. Chapter 2

Jonghyun’s favourite things to do were writing and playing the guitar. His mother hated the latter with passion as it made too much noise in the house. Thankfully after the month June of the boy’s thirteenth year, his mother got a break. Ever since Kibum led Jonghyun into the magical classroom, he couldn’t stop thinking about it, wanting to dash right there when the school bell rang. Ever since that there was no time for anything else.

 It was a friday afternoon and Jonghyun didn’t plan to return home anytime soon. Him and Kibum ran straight into the hidden classroom, Jonghyun more cheerfully than anyone. When they arrived, only one kid was already present, making them feel proud they were among the most eager and fastest to arrive. 

“Oh, hi there,” the first comer greeted them. It was a boy obviously younger than them, shorter and far more childish looking. He sat on the windowsill, legs swinging in the air because they were too short to reach the ground. 

“Hey, Taemin-ah. This here is Kim Jonghyun, he’s new,” Kibum introduced him while Jonghyun studied the younger boy. 

There was an eerie feeling to him, similar to the one he felt seeing Jinki heal the dog yesterday. It would make sense if he, as a magical being or wizard or whatever he official was, felt presence of other magically talented. But Kibum seemed perfectly ordinary throughout whole 6 years that he’d known him. Jonghyun noted to himself to ask someone knowledgeable about it, the teachers probably. 

“What are we gonna do today?” Taemin asked enthusiastically, still swaying his legs back and forth. 

Kibum shrugged. “Dunno. Jonghyun here needs to start from the bottom so I guess we’re gonna hear an introduction talk once again.” 

While Jonghyun thought about what he’s going to hear and learn in a few minutes, the coded door opened up and Jinki weaved his way towards them. His face was graced with another warm-hearted smile and Jonghyun couldn’t help but smile back at him. 

“Nice to see you again, Kim Jonghyun,” the boy said earnestly. “Any scratches today?” 

Jonghyun was forced to shook his head but noted he should acquire some later on since he really did want to try being healed by magic. It sounded thrilling. 

The teacher that was responsible for introducing him to all the things the boys around him already knew, was a neat looking lady with a topknot and square glasses. She looked a bit strict until she spoke up and Jonghyun was startled by her soft, honey-like voice. 

“There is a lot to teach you,” the lady told him, “but there’s no need to rush anything. For now, let me tell you that my name is Kim Yeona and I will teach you the very basics of magic. Do you know what it is that makes magic possible?” 

Jonghyun shook his head, looking up to her in anticipation. 

“Try to think about it. What did you do whenever something out of place, something magical, happened?” professor Kim urged him. 

The problem was Jonghyun thought he never _did_ anything, the odd stuff just kept happening every now and then ever since he was that 9 years old kid imagining a salt cellar turning into animals. Jonghyun frowned. That was it. “Imagining,” he said resolutely, eyes widening. “Every time I imagined something happening, it did!” 

The teacher smiled genuinely. “Correct. You are a clever boy.”

Jonghyun reveled in the proud feeling. When professor Kim continued explaining how the imagination works as a trigger for the magical energy, everything started making sense. And it felt quite easy too. Jonghyun couldn’t wait to try it out.

He was so impatient, kept fidgeting and literally jumped up when the teacher beckoned him to stand up and try what he’d been told. Jonghyun yearned to try the magic finally. And try he did. His mind produced an image of a flower and attempted to shape the white paper into it. But no matter how hard he tried, the paper was still perfectly flat and unchanged.

Jonghyun sighed discontentedly and gritted his teeth. Closed his eyes, tried to concentrate on the desired result, then opened them again and smiled. On the table in front of him, there was a flower-shaped sheet.

He found that closing his eyes made his trials more successful but he strived to perfect doing the magic without that. It was hard as of yet and Jonghyun had to remind himself of the teacher’s words: _there’s no need to rush anything_.

By the evening Jonghyun started feeling considerably exhausted, almost as if he’d spent whole afternoon running the field. So instead of practicing he recursed to watching the other kids. Today there were 9 of them, including all of those he’d met yesterday and a few new faces like Taemin. Some looked as exhausted as he felt and were resting, but majority were absorbed into various activities.

Minho, the tall boy who was the son of the important person from yesterday - Jonghyun suspected he was a leader of some sorts - occupied the spacious back of the classroom. He had various cards scattered on the carpet and looked as if he’s meditating over them. Jonghyun watched him thoroughly for a few seconds, then realized what the boy was doing. Creating photos. Only they weren’t any ordinary postcard photos, but moving, breathing images that could be telling a whole story.

Jinki sat close to Minho’s scattered postcards, managing a colony of mice. When Jonghyun walked closer, he noticed some of them were missing tails, feet or looked overall sick. They were gathered in a plastic box and Jinki worked on healing them and moving the healthy ones into another box, which was markedly emptier.

“I never knew healing mice would be so tedious,” Jinki confessed when he saw Jonghyun walking over. “It’s the missing parts, growing a tail or a finger is much harder than treating a sickness.”

“Noted,” Jonghyun said to that, “I’ll be careful not to lose any limbs since you wouldn’t be able to treat it.”

 Jinki grinned at him. “I might figure it out soon enough, so go ahead.”

“I’ll consider it then,” Jonghyun responded jokingly.

More in the front were Kibum and Taemin, working together. They had a flower pot full of pansies, varying in colours and sizes. Kibum’s were smaller, less colourful while Taemin was showing off a line of tall ones ranging from blue to an iridescent pearly white. That one especially attracted Jonghyun’s attention, its petals shimmering even though they had no colour, only the pure whiteness.

“Tae’s better at this,” admitted Kibum. “He’d been doing this for two years, is why. I still need to practice.”

“Are you growing them from seeds?” Jonghyun asked, fascinated.

“Yep,” Taemin responded cheerfully and proceeded to show him. “Look.”

The younger boy took a seed out of a small box and carefully covered it with soil. Then his petite hands clasped the flowerpot and Jonghyun could feel them heat up the ceramic and the soil inside, the warmth emitting all the way to him. Soon afterwards, a tiny sprout shoot up, slowly at first, then faster, expanding and growing leaves and petals. Finally, there was a crimson pansy with black insides in front of him.

Taemin did the whole process with such ease, it took Jonghyun aback. Although a few years younger than the rest of them, the boy was already far better than anyone else in the classroom, that much he could tell. Maybe except Jinki, whose healing abilities were a on a whole another level.

 

Months later, Jonghyun fully understood that he didn’t have the talent Jinki or Taemin possessed. He improved vastly, but every time he learnt a new thing, it took him long hours, days even to master it. Catching up to Kibum did make him feel slightly better, though. His best friend had a three months jumpstart ahead of him but they soon evened out their levels.

That brought Jonghyun to the realization of why Jinki and Taemin had the eerie feeling to them. They _reeked_ of magic, at least he could tell. And others did too, Jonghyun talked about it and everyone seemed to agree. Except Kibum who kept saying it’s just practice and that they’ll be just as magically mystical as them in a few years. That Jonghyun wasn’t quite sure about and categorized it as Kibum protecting his pride.

Magic seemed to have much more types than even Jonghyun’s wild imagination could fantasize about. As a newbie he started with the reshaping, which was exactly what he was doing all those years without knowing and which was easily manageable, then moved onto conjuring which was a different story. To conjure a thing from scratch, without any bases, was the hardest thing Jonghyun had yet encountered.

 There was a beautifully detailed cat sculpture sitting in front of Taemin. On Jonghyun’s half of the table, there was nothing. He glanced at the younger boy who was done with the magic in less than thirty seconds and pouted.

“I can’t do this,” Jonghyun complained.

“You can,” Taemin countered. “It’s easy. Just imagine it.”

“Thanks, that’s very helpful,” Jonghyun said wryly. Mostly he was angry at himself but Taemin’s ease of doing things didn’t help either.

 Jonghyun was spared the frustration by a couple of adults entering the room. There was majority of faces he didn’t recognize but they were accompanied by Minho’s father.

“Who’s that?” Jonghyun inquired but Taemin only shrugged.

“They come here once in a while, probably doing some sort of a research.”

Taemin was closer to the truth than he had known. Later Jonghyun found out they were just another magicians that however didn’t take a place as teachers. They researched magic as it was still only a few generations old around here.

Jonghyun watched them sit down, organize folders and notebooks on the tables and observe. They didn’t seem to interfere with the kids much but they did call them out of the classroom one by one once they were done. Taemin got called first, then Jinki. Nearly everyone else left and returned until they called out Jonghyun’s name and he looked for help.

“They’ll just do a few tests,” Jinki assured him, seeing the panic in his eyes.

No one told him they are going to take his blood sample. Had he known Jonghyun would never come in the first place. Now he could only stretch out his arm and close his eyes tightly, expecting the prick.

“Why do they need all this?” he asked when he finally left the narrow room right outside of the classroom.

“Dunno,” Kibum answered, “But it’s only once a few months.”

No one else seemed to know the truth behind the mysterious researchers and the tests and it bothered Jonghyun. It bothered him to the point he wondered if telling his family wouldn’t be a good idea. Mom always knew everything, so maybe she’d help with this, too. On the other hand he liked having a secret.


	3. Chapter 3

In Jonghyun’s opinion, it was far too cold for a field trip and he’d rather stay hiding in the magic classroom, even if it were a researcher test day. But the good thing about going to this specific trip at the end of October was that another school joined them and Jonghyun saw a familiar face smiling at him from a seat in the bus.

“Hey, Jinki- _hyung_!” Jonghyun exclaimed and sat down next to the boy. “Didn’t think I’d see you here, otherwise I wouldn’t consider skipping.”

Jinki raised his hand as an invitation for a high-five. “Me too. I only went for the food.”

“There’s food?”

“Why yes, we are going to a bibimbap festival, what did you think we’ll do there?”

“Observe? Cook? I don’t know,” Jonghyun admitted.

“Why in the world did you even come then?” asked Jinki.

“I had sixth sense about seeing you here.”

“Didn’t you just say you didn’t expect me?” Jinki opposed.

“Uhm,” Jonghyun got stuck. “Nah I just didn’t wanna sound creepy, y’know. Who’d believe in stuff like sixth sense and magic anyway, ay?”

It had been just four months since the two of them met but most of the time Jonghyun felt like Jinki was his lifelong friend. Come to think of it, he felt closer to him than to Kibum already. They spent less time together as they didn’t attend the same school but all the hours in the classroom and even outside on weekends brought them closer.

The trip turned out to be much more fun, partially thanks to Lee Jinki and partially because of the golden opportunity when their teacher gave them free time to roam the streets of Jeonju. The two of them found the most secluded place they could within the time limit and enjoyed experimenting with magic.

“Watch this,” Jonghyun announced proudly and swept a pile of leaves into the air, creating a little tornado. All that while glancing at Jinki, waiting for a sign of approval.

But Jinki just sneered. “Please, that’s nothing.”

Jonghyun dropped the pile as soon as Jinki picked it up, moved it more upwards and turned the leaves into butterflies. “Pff,” he commented but couldn’t hide his astonishment.

And then the butterflies swarmed at them, flying all around and eventually hitting a lamp right above them and shattering the glass. One of the shards scratched Jonghyun’s arm and another his finger.

“Oops,” Jinki said, stroking over his own scratches and making them disappear in an instant. “I guess my imagination went somewhere it shouldn’t have.”

“Do you often spontaneously imagine butterflies breaking a lamp? Because I’d better not hang out with you if you do,” Jonghyun scolded him but he eagerly held out his scratched arms to Jinki.

The older boy placed a warm palm over Jonghyun’s forearm and he felt a tiny tickle all over the place. In a second the scratches were gone.

“There,” Jinki said and Jonghyun immediately wished he had more scratches the older boy could tend to. Every time he went through the healing process, no matter how small the scratch was, it always made him feel energized and stronger.

They spent rest of the afternoon in the bus, heading back to Seoul. And while the rest of the kids headed home, Jonghyun and Jinki set out through the familiar streets leading to the library. Since it was Saturday, there were more kids in the classroom than usual. And all of them were unusually silent, staring at professor Kim who had a speech.

“-so please rather do not contact his family at all,” Kim Yeona finished just when the two of them entered the room. Everyone had grim, serious expressions and that made Jonghyun’s stomach drop.

“What happened?” he whispered to Kibum, since it felt like a crime to speak loudly.

Kibum glanced at the professor and then quickly whispered back: “One of the kids died today.”

Jonghyun exchanged a look of horror with Jinki, searching for an explanation but finding the older boy looking just as clueless.

“Let’s get out, I’ll tell you all about it,” Kibum decided and Jonghyun was glad they won’t have to stay in the place any longer. The air felt stiff and uncomfortable, as if they interrupted the funeral itself.

The three of them sat on a bench in front of the building, and Kibum told them how the kid died because of magic but they’re not allowed to tell that to anyone. His family will be told a lie, because no matter how harsh it sounded, concealing the community was their priority. Jonghyun wondered why bothering to tell the kids at all if they wanted to keep it a secret.

“Who was he anyway?” Jonghyun inquired.

“A novice researcher, 17 years old. I don’t remember the name anymore, never seen him before.”

“I remember him,” Jinki said suddenly, forehead furrowed in concentration. “When I came here for the first time, he was still in the classroom. For a few months, at least. Never talked to him much, though.”

“Why did no one ever tell us when do we become full grown teachers or magicians?” Jonghyun realized, hoping to get an answer out of Jinki, who was the senior among them.

“I’ve been here just a year longer than you,” Jinki objected. “I only know this one boy who became a researcher. They told us briefly and then he never showed up again. He was sixteen then.”

 

 Being the enthusiastic kids that completely fell for magic, the boys soon forgot about the tragedy of a young novice dying. It took Jonghyun a couple of months to figure out the conjuring properly but now he was confidently creating little statues and toys and simply anything his mind decided upon. Once he forgot his textbook at home and conjured up the whole thing, only it was missing all the words inside. In any case it was good for putting it on display on the desk at least.

Soon he attempted conjuring the living things - plants mostly, but also animals. They weren’t real ones, but those transparent, ghost-like beings he saw the first time he entered the magic classroom. Bringing to life real animals would take a skill none of them possessed but these imitations were just as good. And Jonghyun found it easy to conjure them.

Jinki had talent for healing, Taemin was an all-around prodigy with a bit higher skills when it came to planting, Kibum’s strength was reshaping and Minho has gotten good at enchantments and boosts of all sorts. Jonghyun wished he had a more convenient talent because soon he grew tired of transparent dogs running around him.

While experimenting with new magic on his own, there were a few times he succeeded completely and quite a lot more times when he failed and came running to Jinki for help. One of those times was when Jonghyun set his mind on creating a real dog but the spell somehow turned against him.

Jinki was in the classroom when his phone rang and Jonghyun’s desperate voice pleaded him to come to his house as soon as possible.

“Any scratches?” Jinki asked him while readying to go out immediately.

“Worse,” Jonghyun whined.

It really was considerably worse than just a scratch or two. It was quite tragic, really, but Jinki couldn’t contain laughter when he saw Jonghyun’s face peeking through a door slit. “Goodness, how did you manage that?”

Jonghyun’s cheeks were covered with fur, turning him into a thirty years old man instead of a boy he was. Although hidden by his longish hair, the boy’s ears grew larger and resembled ears of a shepherd. The rest of his body seemed normal at first sight but then Jinki noticed a shaggy tail hanging lifelessly behind Jonghyun.

“I tried to conjure a dog.”

Jinki raised an eyebrow at him. “You know that no one can do that, the teacher told us.”

“Do you usually believe and follow everything the teacher says?” Jonghyun objected, remembering a particularly painful experience when Jinki tried to mess up with weather. All he wanted was some snow but instead of conjuring just a few snowflakes, Jinki went for a snowstorm. That brought him a vicious tornado following him for hours - and Jonghyun as well since was unlucky enough to bump into him.

“Now I do,” Jinki responded. “I’ve had enough of tornadoes for the rest of my life to be quite honest.”

“Same with me and dogs. No more dangerous experiments, I swear. Now get me back to normal, please,” Jonghyun pleaded, clinging to Jinki’s arm. Truth be told, he wasn’t entirely sure if he meant the promise but he could swear there will be no more experiments for a few days at least, until he forgets being a failed werewolf.

“All right, let’s give it a try.”

It took longer than healing a scratch buf half an hour later, Jonghyun looked perfectly human again. Jinki was tempted to leave out the ears and only decided against since they might get scolded by teachers for experimenting like that.


	4. Chapter 4

They weren’t kids anymore. It showed in their voices becoming more low-pitched, their shoulders broadening and figures spurting up. Their uniforms changed too, as they were no longer attending middle school. Nothing much changed in the way they spent their free time, though. After years of going into the magical classroom, their eagerness sometimes faltered but they still did go there.

However experimenting outside of classes was still winning their little teenage hearts. Shortly before Jonghyun’s sixteenth birthday, the boy poured all his energy into a sort of a project he came up with secretly, his promise not to experiment in dangerous areas long forgotten. He didn’t tell anyone, possibly both because he felt ashamed and wanted to feel proud when he succeeds on his own.

There was nothing about using magic to grow taller in any of the notes present in the classroom. It was quite expected, as they were forbidden to use magic on themselves other than minor boosts like adding energy and stuff that Minho was good at. But Jonghyun didn’t give up. He _needed_ to figure the spell out. Sometimes during the past year, Jinki’s height shot up by good ten centimetres and he towered Jonghyun to the point it irritated him. Kibum was slowly catching up, too, while Jonghyun didn’t have any growth spurt recorded and was still on the same height since centuries ago.

 

The spell turned out to be the worst idea in history of Kim Jonghyun’s numerous bad ideas. Although it seemed rather easy to him, it was far from that. When he tried a couple of times on animals before, it either worked or it didn’t but in either of the cases no side effects appeared. The moment he pictured himself growing taller and pulled all the energy into it though, he knew immediately something was wrong.

Instead of the usual flow of energy that was supposed to feel warm and calming, Jonghyun felt his body tense up. It was like a cramp, paralyzing both his physical body and the mind. He wasn’t able to relax in any way and magic kept flowing through his veins without his consent. Jonghyun felt helpless, choked by someone and unable to fight back.

After a couple of minutes, the tension grew milder and he started shaking instead, frozen to the bone as if he’d just been splashed with ice. Jonghyun gasped for air, realizing that he forgot to breathe after minutes of being paralyzed.

“Shit,” he cursed while carefully flexing his arms and legs. They hurt tremendously, to the point he wondered if there weren’t any fractures.

“Shit,” Jonghyun repeated when a rush of hotness replaced the shivering and his skin started to itch. He scratched his navel, then his small back, then an elbow. There was suddenly an odd rash on all of those places, irritated and full of blisters. One of those blisters started bleeding when he ran his nails over it and Jonghyun hissed.

“Fine, fine, I give up,” he concluded his unpleasant experiment. “I’ll just stay a midget my whole life, it’s not worth this shit.”

 

The rash itched horribly and he kept scratching it even though he knew he shouldn’t. Throughout the day it spread over nearly every place on his body, except the face. Jonghyun couldn’t return home like this and he didn’t think seeking out any of their teachers was the right choice either. The more he thought about it, the more he felt like he probably did something forbidden and would be punished for it. Not that anyone warned them particularly about trying to grow themselves taller with magic.

By the time he reached Jinki’s home, the rash crawled up his neck and covered his chin, making him feel as if he’d been punched. It took Jinki one short look before he pulled him in, quickly running him through the living room where his mother was hoovering and into his bedroom upstairs.

“God, you look awful,” were Jinki’s first words when the door closed shut behind them.

“It’s nice to see you, too,” Jonghyun deadpanned. “Mind helping me out a bit?”

The good thing about Jinki was that he never asked about things. Nor did he judge, he just considered the situation and made do. Just like that, he seated Jonghyun on his own bed and crouched beneath him.

“Legs first,” he commanded, “It looks like it’s going up so we need to start from the bottom.”

That made sense, Jonghyun concluded but hesitated a bit before he started fumbling with his belt because it did feel a bit awkward taking his pants off, rash or no rash.

“Okay,” Jonghyun muttered, sliding out of the pants and suddenly feeling slightly hotter. He just hoped it wasn’t his body breaking out in more of the rash.

His legs weren’t as bad as the rest of his body, so after a few minutes of cooling energy flowing from Jinki’s hands, the skin looked perfectly healthy. Jonghyun only worried it might return to worse again because for some reason he was still feeling ridiculously hot.

Jinki sat beside him and moved onto the upper body, sliding hands under Jonghyun’s shirt and healing the irritated spots. It tickled a bit but that was nothing compared to the itching Jonghyun had to bear with the whole afternoon. The awkwardness was worse than any itching though. And Jonghyun really had no idea why but when Jinki put palms over his neck and chin, he felt his cheeks flush and knew it wasn’t any new wave of magic eczema.

“There,” Jinki withdrew his hands and smiled. “Now what do I get in return?”

“Uhm, my infinite gratitude and admiration?” Jonghyun guessed.

“Nah,” Jinki refused the offer. “I’ve already got enough of your admiration, don’t you think?”

“Mhm,” Jonghyun murmured, “You can always do with a bit more of it. Bathing in the spotlight for your almighty skills.”

“Bathing in the spotlight of your eyes, maybe.”

“Ain’t that enough?” Jonghyun’s face lit up with a teasing smile. He realized there’s no more itching anymore and that his skin feels refreshingly calm and new.

Any signs of awkward were lifted too, until Jinki responded with a similarly teasing grin and an accompanying jest: “Would be if I got a kiss or two in the pack.”

Oddly enough, first idea that Jonghyun’s brain produced was leaning in and kissing Jinki right then and there. It would turn his little joke against him for sure and make Jonghyun the winner. But then Jonghyun felt the butterflies in his stomach and hotness in his cheeks rising again and he thought, maybe that would be no winning at all.

Yet he looked Jinki in the eye and said: “Deal.”

“Deal,” Jinki repeated and there was no telling if it was a question or an agreement.

And then, before the moment would disappear into an outburst of awkward laughing, Jonghyun finally decided to turn off his brain and just do it. It started out as a peck similar to when he kisses his older sister. But he didn’t retreat, stayed put millimetres from Jinki’s face and waited. Jinki did the same, eyes closed and lips curled teasingly. Then his eyes fluttered open and startled Jonghyun, who hurriedly closed his.

The teasing game ended when Jinki reached his hand out, pulled Jonghyun in and kissed him with more passion. It was a rather clumsy kiss, their noses bumped at first until Jonghyun tilted his head and pressed his body closer to the boy sitting next to him. When they separated, he felt hot again and quickly checked his arms for any signs of irritated skin.

“I can help you if you’re looking for a new set of red skin,” said Jinki and Jonghyun shoved him away, snorting.

  
  


The very next day Jonghyun reached the magic classroom slightly earlier than everyone else. Such a thing didn’t happen in a while, possibly since the times he was an eager thirteen years old boy. Nowadays studies were demanding, and Jonghyun finally realized why he never saw that many older boys in there.

This time Jonghyun was restless. And it wasn’t magic’s fault. Or well, it was, really, since magic was what got him and Jinki together. At least Jonghyun hoped they were together, whatever that meant. Maybe the older boy will show up and laugh over how funny that prank yesterday was. That or he might act as if nothing happened and whichever the case Jonghyun won’t be able to bear it.

Kibum skipped whole school today and Jonghyun had no one else he could talk to about such stuff. When Taemin usurped his favourite spot on the windowsill, he was very tempted to just bring it up to him.  _Hey Taemin, how have you been? I kissed Jinki yesterday and I’ve no idea what to do now._

“Hey,” Jonghyun said but did not follow up.

“Hey,” Taemin mirrored. “I’ve heard today’s an important day.”

“Huh?” For a second Jonghyun imagined Jinki planning a spectacular date and telling Taemin who had this stupid habit of giving away every secret.

“Minho told me his dad’s coming today,” said Taemin and Jonghyun felt a relief. “I’m guessing he’s gonna do your initiation. Yours and Jinki, most likely.”

The relief was short-lived. With the sudden remembrance came fear and uncertainty. They had seen it coming for months but successfully forgot about it because it never did. Not until today.

For the past year or so, Jonghyun’s impatience hit its limit and he told Jinki they have to investigate. Since they came here three years ago, no one ever told them much about the whole magic society outside of the classroom. They had no idea what happened to the sixteen years old boys that were promoted to researchers. They were still unaware of the real reason why that one novice died.

During their time spent there, though, they noticed that the promotions of a child into a fully grown magician always happen within a specific period of time. It was Jinki who figured it out first, pointed out how they always promote a child who turned sixteen just a few months ago. By these calculations, they expected Jinki to be called sometimes after the New Year’s but it was already March.

“It doesn’t make sense,” he told Taemin after a considerate moment of thinking. “It’s later than usual for Jinki and too early for me.”

“Well,” Taemin concluded, “your calculations suck.”

The classroom was still half-empty when Jinki came in, smiling at him all the way from the door. Jonghyun didn’t repeat the smile and frowned instead.

“You’re gonna grow wrinkles,” Jinki told him playfully, still shining brightly. “And I don’t think my healing can do much about wrinkles. Unless it’s, say, forcefully done wrinkles.”

“What?” Jonghyun’s mind wasn’t ready for Jinki’s odd riddles and puns. He couldn’t stop thinking about the kiss and now there was his future as a magician casting a shadow over his whole brain, too.

“How do you forcefully wrinkle skin?” Taemin asked before Jinki could explain himself.

Jinki looked at him with a sly grin and Jonghyun remembered his joke yesterday, when he offered to get him a new set of red skin. “Oh god, Jinki,” was all Jonghyun could come up with and he was nearly grateful when the back door opened and Minho’s father walked in.

“I’d like Lee Jinki and Kim Jonghyun to come with me,” he announced curtly.

Jinki’s grin faded away and they both followed the man out into the hallway and the small room they were used to seeing during the tests. There was a sofa in the corner and that’s where he seated them.

“Jinki has turned sixteen last year and Jonghyun’s birthday is close,” the leader started hastily, as if he had a lot to talk about and wanted to have it over as soon as possible. “Usually we pair up a few kids this age since it’s both easier to say this stuff to more people at once and we also believe it to be convenient. You will need someone close to discuss this with and I hope you do still remember telling your family or anyone outside is prohibited.”

Jonghyun nodded and Jinki followed hesitantly. Compared to the welcome speech Jonghyun received from the very same man three years ago, this felt more like a policeman coming to announce someone’s death.

“What I am about to tell you now, though, can’t reach anyone inside the magic classroom either. Not anyone of the kids still studying there, is that clear?”

Another stiff nod from both of them.

“Using magic shortens your lifespan.”


	5. Chapter 5

Jonghyun hasn’t recovered from the initial shock yet. After they’d been told that magic shortens their lifespan, Minho’s father went on explaining every little thing about it. But even with all the answers finally served up to them, all that mattered was the primary statement. 

Apparently, children weren’t affected. Neither the teachers nor the researchers knew why as of yet, and that’s the reason they kept checking on the children, running various tests and researching. It was only after a person’s body matured that the magic started taking its toll. It has been decided that the children are told when they turn sixteen as that was usually the age this started happening. 

“Now it’s up to you whether you want to continue using magic or not,” they were given a choice at the end and sent off to do the deciding. 

And Jonghyun didn’t know. He looked at his wrist, inspecting the little dots that resembled a tattoo. Right after they were told all of this, two researchers came in, connected them to various machines monitoring their pulse and pressure and whatnot. They took their arms, soothing them that it’s just another test. 

However unlike the usual tests, this had a strong aftermath. The researchers produced a graph, briefly guiding them through its meaning as if it was just a curve of their potential height. Only it was a curve of their predicted lifespan. And there was a final number beneath it, which was pure speculation but it still haunted him.

 Jonghyun’s number was 525749. Jinki’s was slightly lower; 507417. The same number was now tattooed on the insides of their wrists and it was supposed to change whenever they use magic. The number of hours they had left to live.

  


“It’s not that bad yet,” Jinki said.

It was true. Their lifespans equaled about 60 years ahead for Jonghyun and 57 for Jinki. The part where Jonghyun’s lifespan was longer was bad, though. Among other things they were also told that the more powerful the magic of the user, the more it drains your lifespan and maybe that was already the case for Jinki, whose magic abilities surpassed Jonghyun’s and nearly anyone else’s.

“Well, we have to give it a try,” Jonghyun decided reluctantly and concentrated on the flower growing few centimeters away from their feet. It grew up, towering over them in a few seconds.

Jinki grabbed Jonghyun’s wrist, turning it around. The number was still the same as a few minutes ago, as far as he remembered. “No change?”

Jonghyun felt both relieved and troubled and the feelings clashed. It was good that he was still unaffected, but what if Jinki wasn’t protected anymore?

“My turn,” Jinki declared and did the very same thing, only in a reverse order. The flower shrank to its original size, bending down a bit.

The number tattooed on Jinki’s wrist went from 507390 down to 507389.

“An hour for such a tiny spell?” Jinki groaned.

“It doesn’t count minutes, maybe it was already close to the hour and this was just a few minutes.” Either way it was the situation he’d feared. And at that moment, Jonghyun knew what their decision should be. “You quit. I stay.”

“No way,” Jinki disagreed, paused for a moment and then asked: “Do you still remember little Hyeonmi?”

Hyeonmi was a daughter of one of the teachers and she had leukemia. Minho’s father was the best in healing and he used a great deal of his power - and his lifespan - to buy her life but did not succeed. The girl was dying and Jinki stepped in, saying he’ll try. Jonghyun witnessed the adults turning down the fifteen years old child, not even considering it. But Jinki still went without anyone knowing. Anyone but Jonghyun.

“She’s starting school this year,” Jonghyun said instead of an answer. “All thanks to you.”

“Exactly. And that’s what I want to do. Heal. And I don’t care if I die in the process,” Jinki announced boldly.

“But I don’t want you to,” Jonghyun said in a futile resistance. It pained him thinking about Jinki dying years, decades younger than him. No matter how selfish it was of him, Jonghyun wanted to keep his friend to himself, for as long as possible.

“You know it’s not really an option,” Jinki reasoned with a calm, soothing voice. “And they know it too. That we’ve been doing magic far too long and we love it too much to abandon it now.”

Rather than keeping the children from truth because it would hurt them, Jonghyun agreed that it was most likely intentional. If they were told at the beginning, some children might be careful enough to say no straight away. Then they would lose a magician without even checking his potential first.

“It’s really selfish of them,” Jonghyun complained while having his own selfishness in mind. “But I guess you’re right. I want you to promise me something, though.”

Jinki raised an eyebrow. “You know you won’t talk me out of this, right?”

“Not saying I won’t continue trying, but yeah,” Jonghyun admitted. “I just want you to promise me you won’t waste your lifespan. Use magic only when absolutely necessary and let me do everything else that’s in my capability.”

“Fine.”

Jonghyun held out his little finger. “Pinky promise?”

Jinki smiled and sealed their promise.

“So,” Jonghyun started hesitantly after they separated their hands, “since we’ve settled the important stuff, can we talk about the day before yesterday?”

There was a brief moment of silence and Jonghyun was worried he did a mistake bringing it up but when he quickly glanced over to Jinki, he saw him breaking into a wide smile.

“Do you wanna talk about it or rather do the same thing again?”

“Do the thing,” Jonghyun responded immediately, feeling butterflies in his stomach.

They were sitting on a bench in a park and quite a few people were around but Jonghyun didn’t care. He saw no reason to be ashamed for loving someone, whoever that someone is and wherever he’s expressing the love. So it was him who leaned closer to the older boy and gave him a childish peck on a cheek at first. Then Jinki frowned as if disapproving and turned his body fully to face Jonghyun and kiss him properly.

It felt uplifting. Since yesterday they’ve had so much to ponder over and trouble themselves, shutting their minds for a while and feeling genuinely euphoric did help a lot.

  


The hardest part was pretending everything’s the same as it used to be. In front of family it was something they were used to do, as they had to keep their whole magic escapades a secret. But not telling Kibum or even Taemin, Minho and the others about the lifespan proved to be mission impossible. Especially since Kibum was Kibum.

“What do you mean they didn’t tell you anything? You’ve been there for almost an hour.”

“Duh,” Jonghyun was at a loss of words. “They did all those tests and some more, that’s why.”

Kibum studies his face thoroughly, probably seeing right into his soul. “I don’t believe you. There’s got to be answers at some point. I figured said point should be when you become sixteen and you officially transform into novices.”

“Dunno,” Jonghyun responded vaguely. “Maybe you get to know stuff only after you’re done being novice and become a full-fledged wizard.”

“What’s the tattoo on your left wrist by the way?”

Jonghyun quickly pulled the wristband lower, cursing himself for playing with it during class and probably moving it too much. “Not a tattoo, just a scratch. Will have to ask Jinki for healing later.”

“Mhm,” Kibum agreed but didn’t look like he bought any of it. “I think you should just-” he started after a few seconds but got interrupted by his phone vibrating on the school desk.

It was as good distraction as any and Jonghyun got up, mumbling he’s off to a toilet and leaving Kibum pondering over a text message. He had no idea how will he manage not to tell Kibum any of the stuff they’ve learnt only a few days ago. There was still year and half to go before Kibum’s sixteenth birthday.

Jonghyun took his time coming back from the toilet, waiting until the bell rang for the class and hoping Kibum will forget to inquire any more when it’s next break. When he reached the classroom’s door, he noticed Kibum’s spot was empty and he rejoiced. But then he realized his bag and all things were gone too, and that had him worried.

  


“Jonghyun, please,” Kibum’s voice on the phone was trembling slightly, “you have to bring Jinki over to the classroom, quick.”

“What happened?” Jonghyun asked, alarmed. From the moment he realized his friend packed his stuff and left school early, he suspected something might be going on.

“No time,” Kibum retorted. “Just come fast, please. As fast as you can. And don’t tell anyone else. Just Jinki.”

It sounded as if Kibum was being strangled by someone, his voice high and unnatural, spitting each sentence with undeniable urgency. Jonghyun hung up and broke into a sprint through the school ground and to the opposite side of the neighbourhood than his everyday route.

Jinki’s school was only a bus stop away and he managed to arrive just as the boy was walking out of the front door. He was glad for that, as explaining over the phone and settling on a meeting point was too much of a trouble right now.

“Classroom, fast,” he managed to get out while still panting after the run. “Kibum called, it’s urgent.”

Jinki nodded and without any further inquiries or explanation, he dragged him around the corner into a dead end with only a few houses and an alleyway filled with trash bags.

“Why-” Jonghyun started but was cut off.

“Step closer, like this,” Jinki pulled him in and crouched to draw something with a chalk he casually pulled out of his pants. When he was done, he straightened and held Jonghyun’s hands.

It was hard not to ask how in the world did Jinki manage to learn teleportation but Jonghyun knew getting into the classroom fast was the priority. He felt a tickle on his feet, then thighs, stomach and all the way up to his head. It was sort of like healing, only with no soothing sensation afterwards. In a split of a second they were standing right in the classroom, close to the back door.

After the initial shock of being actually _teleported_ , Jonghyun turned around to face the same direction as Jinki, who stood there with utter horror in his eyes. It was Taemin. The kid was lying on the floor, looking anything but alive. His skin was pale, eyes wide open and Kibum was bending over him, hands shaking.

Jinki didn’t hesitate and ran closer, pressing his hands over Taemin’s forehead. “Ice cold,” he commented. There was an odd calmness to him, although Jonghyun could see him tense up.

“Is he…?” Jonghyun couldn’t bring himself to say the word. It did not feel right to use such a word in connection with your friend, a boy of mere 13 years.

“No, he’s alive,” Jinki proved his fears false and he relaxed a bit. “But it’s nothing I’ve ever seen before. What happened here?”

Kibum bit his lips, visibly fumbling for the right words. “I don’t know what Taemin was doing, but when I came, there was utter darkness, bigger than now and… _heavy_.”

It was then that Jonghyun realized the familiar stars and sun on the ceiling were gone. So were all the other magic things that kids kept conjuring up for fun and that were always there, as long as he could remember. Since the windows were all hidden by curtains, the room was gloomy, as if it turned lifeless just like the young boy on the ground.

“I found Taemin in sort of a seizure. He kept screaming and shaking, almost as if fighting with _something_.” Kibum whispered the last word, as if that _something_ could be listening to them.

“Guys.” Jonghyun kept looking around the now dark and ordinary classroom and chanced on a notebook filled with Taemin’s rather neat handwriting. “I think I know what he was doing.”

Jinki and Kibum both gathered around, looking over his shoulder. Then froze on the spot, speechless. From the looks of it Lee Taemin was trying to resurrect a dead person.


	6. Chapter 6

They all wanted to protect Taemin and not inform on him but the situation was far too serious and it was clear they’d hurt him more by keeping everything they witnessed a secret. Jinki healed him out of the odd paralysis that made him appear lifeless but Jonghyun kept him from any further magic usage.

Even like this the number on the healer’s wrist dropped to 507287. Among all the shock, Jonghyun forgot to check the original number before the healing took place but decided to remember this one. He recorded it on his own wrist, above his life clock, together with a time when the record was made.

  
  


“How is he?” Kibum queried the professor as soon as they came into the classroom the very next day. Yesterday they lead Taemin into the small researching room and converted it into a temporary infirmary room.

“Still no change,” professor Kim replied, sadness present in her voice.

Still no change meant Taemin hasn’t woken up yet. The three of them stayed by his side till late evening but he didn’t as much as move a finger. His skin gained a visibly healthier shade and his body got warmer but other than that he still looked rather dead.

“Attention, please,” the professor said loudly, addressing everyone present in the classroom.

Jonghyun knew what’s going to follow and he had no desire to hear any of it. No one needed to warn him against forbidden magic experiments. If not his failed attempts to grow taller or conjure a real animal, what he had seen yesterday discouraged him from ever attempting as much as a weather change.

Without any words, he just nudged Jinki’s shoulder and pointed outside. The older boy nodded and they left through the back door, into the narrow hallway and past the first door on the left side. Taemin was lying on a makeshift bed, a sleeping beauty under a curse.

Jonghyun watched Jinki as he gently lifted the boy’s hand. “Is he in pain?”

“You tell me,” said Jinki and waited for him to come over. For past few months he tried to teach Jonghyun his healing skills but the younger boy was hopelessly incapable in this area.

This time, however, Jonghyun could tell. Even if he didn’t feel Taemin’s pulse, he’d still know the boy’s alive. There was magic flowing through his veins, that much he sensed. That and the fact it came in flurries, irregularly and stronger or weaker at times.

“No pain but there’s something wrong with the magic.”

“Irregular, coming in rushes,” Jinki confirmed. “He won’t wake up until it settles down. And when it does, there’s no telling if he’ll still have any magic in him left at all.”

Jonghyun thought as much, but it still hurt to hear. Taemin was one of the best students among them, his abilities surpassing anyone. He didn’t have a special talent but his magic was the strongest; every spell was a piece of cake for him.

“Jonghyun-ah,” Jinki approached him carefully, “I have to heal him.”

“There are other healers,” Jonghyun opposed almost aggressively. “We’re still just kids, we should leave it up to the adults.”

“We’re officially novices now.”

“I know,” Jonghyun stressed. Most of his teenage years he wished to grow up and be an adult finally. Now he’d give everything to be a clueless child again.

“I should do it now. If I can save his magic disappearing, I will.” Jinki looked him in the eye, showing that he’s already determined and is not asking for Jonghyun’s permission.

“You can’t just-”

A movement caught Jonghyun’s attention and he stopped in the middle of the sentence. Taemin’s hand rose, slowly, and his eyes fluttered open. He looked confused, disoriented but very much alive and both Jonghyun and Jinki smiled at him genuinely.

“Hey,” Jonghyun greeted him.

The boy attempted to sit up but his body was still weak. Jinki held his shoulders and helped him up. “How are you feeling?”

Jonghyun had to contain himself because he was tempted to start asking. What exactly was Taemin trying to do, what went wrong and so many more questions were itching to be asked.

For now, Taemin didn’t seem to be capable of putting a full sentence together. “Not good,” was all he managed to respond with.

“Just rest now,” Jinki soothed him. “We’ll get you something to eat, okay?”

  
  


Days later, Taemin’s condition improved in terms of strength and ability to speak but there were other disturbing symptoms. Jinki went to perform minor healing on him twice and each of the times, 10 hours of his life were lost. Jonghyun’s forearm was covered with numbers.

Among the disturbing symptoms there was a rash not dissimilar to the one Jonghyun’s skin broke into after his own fail experiment. However the rash turned completely black in a span of mere few hours and skin started to peel off. Minho’s father, whose healing abilities were best among the adults, arrived to inspect him on the fourth day and came out with even more disturbing news.

“It’s not looking good,” he told them straight. They were cramped in the narrow hallway, Jonghyun and Jinki and a few other researchers that helped around. “Since he performed a very dangerous black magic, the disease that’s taking over him won’t be anything easy to heal. I’m afraid it’s not in my capability to heal him.”

Jonghyun’s heart sunk. If not him, there was no one else in order more capable than Jinki.

“I will try.” As expected, Jinki volunteered. This time around, the adults didn’t wave him off, they all looked at him with slight concern, but approval, too.

“I cannot order you to do it, but saving him is our priority. Nevertheless you should know that this kind of healing might take most of your lifespan.”

That was it for Jonghyun. “Are you fucking kidding us,” he snapped. “‘Saving him is our priority’, my ass. You prioritize children who are capable and just write off those that aren’t. We’re talking about people here, not containers for magic. You either kill a capable healer to save a strong magic user or let him die and save the healer, that’s all there is to you.”

“You’re wrong,” Minho’s father objected but Jonghyun didn’t wait to hear why. He turned around and stormed through the classroom and outside of the building as fast he could.

  
  


Jinki found him stomping around in circles in the park nearby. He was furious, angry at the whole magic community, at Jinki for being so selfless and also at himself for being so useless in healing.

“Don’t,” he pointed the words at Jinki but didn’t look at him. “You won’t convince me.”

Jinki sighed, ever so slightly. “I don’t need to. I am going to do it, whether you like it or not. We can’t let Taemin die.”

“We can’t let you die, either. You’re contributing to the world with your healing abilities,” Jonghyun argumented. “If we were choosing whom to dispose to save the kid, it would be me.”

“It’s not about whom to dispose,” Jinki said, still calm in contrast to Jonghyun fuming with rage. “As you said, I’m contributing. Right now, it’s time to contribute.”

“You promised me,” Jonghyun nearly cried out, desperate to change Jinki’s mind, even though he knew he’s fighting a lost battle.

“I promised to use magic only when it’s necessary. This is.”

“But…” Jonghyun ran out of all arguments. All but one. “But I love you and I don’t want you to die.” It came out as a whimper and Jonghyun felt utterly selfish and all sorts of horrible again.

Jinki stood there in silence for a while, then stepped closer and kissed him on the forehead. “I know,” he said in the end, pulling him into an embrace.

  
  


Ever since his outburst Jonghyun never visited Taemin again. All he did was tail Jinki whenever he could and scribble down the dropping numbers on the boy’s wrist.

“You need to stop that,” Jinki decided to comment his absurdly careful observation of his lifespan. “And you should come in, too.”

Jonghyun waited outside the infirmary room while Jinki talked to Taemin for what seemed like ages but he couldn’t bring himself to enter. He felt all the anger and sorrow would show and Taemin didn’t need to know all there was behind his dire situation.

“I’m being your manager,” responded Jonghyun. “And from that position I’d like to point out that you’ve used too many hours  for minor healings.”

“He’s in pain,” Jinki frowned at him. “Anyway, he told me about his experiment.”

That caught Jonghyun’s attention and successfully distracted him from any more scoldings. “Who did he try to resurrect then?”

They slowly moved away from the room and found an empty corner in the library, which was half empty as it was holiday. Even so Jinki spoke in whispers and as close to Jonghyun as possible. “A cousin of his died recently, it was a car accident. It broke Taemin’s heart because they were very close and he thought about using magic to bring him back.”

“I can understand that, but he should’ve consult it with someone,” Jonghyun contemplated but recalled his own secret experiments in an instant. It was always a risk doing a forbidden experiment on your own, but telling someone was the same.

“There actually are a few notes about it, they’re really old and it looks like someone from the first generation made them. However they’re incomplete and closed with an ‘experiment unsuccessful’ written at the end.” Jinki sighed. “I’ve no idea what the kid was thinking.”

Jonghyun shook his head. “More like he was not thinking.”

It must have been hard on the boy, they both knew that. But gambling with his life like this was plain stupid. Nevertheless when Jonghyun imagined himself in the same situation, with his family or friends dying, he knew he’d be just as stupid as that.

  
  


It was late in the evening and the classroom was empty and dark. The kids recreated the sun and stars up above but they didn’t shine half as brightly as before. It was almost as if a part of the magic was taken from everyone when Taemin started suffering from the magical disease.

Jonghyun sneaked in after everyone left and sat at the teacher’s desk, browsing through the notebook Taemin left behind after his experiment. That was the only thing they didn’t show the adults and Jonghyun was very glad for that. He wasn’t quite sure what he was looking for but he simply wanted to believe there will be answers to all the dilemmas somewhere in there.

After he traced down the notes that helped Taemin conduct the whole thing, he went through each page thoroughly. It looked as though the person knew a lot about resurrecting yet he never attempted it and gave up his research, deeming it too dangerous. The notes did not end with the “experiment unsuccessful” though. There were a few blank pages but after that a few more records. Someone did attempt it. And failed.

It was past midnight when Jonghyun finally closed the notebooks and returned them to its places. And as he went home, he had a new plan in his mind and a promise to himself. He’s going to experiment giving Jinki his own life, and therefore keeping him from dying. And this time he promised to be careful and ask someone before trying. This had to work perfectly, no matter what.


	7. Chapter 7

It had to be today. Jinki planned to come over for dinner and Jonghyun arranged for him to come a few hours earlier, when there’s still no one at home. It felt like planning a first date with your first love and for a moment Jonghyun wished it could be true.

A fortnight had passed and Taemin’s condition was on the edge. His skin was peeled off more than attached and two more researchers were providing him with minor healing to ease the pain. Since yesterday the boy was back in a comma, pale and lifeless again. That was when Jinki came and announced he’ll do the healing the next day.

Jonghyun rushed the rest of his secret research. He spent countless nights buried in notes and asked the one person who was signed beneath one of them for help. Seo Mingyu was one the teachers in their classroom but he only ever came once as far as Jonghyun remembered. The reason for that was him being specialized in lifespan management and therefore teaching the adults rather than the kids. Jonghyun entrusted himself to him, hoping the magician still remembered how to give lifespan to someone, as he recorded in one of his notes.

There were many uncertainties about the whole process and Jonghyun wasn’t quite sure what will be needed. Will he be pass out afterwards? Will the magic cause anything unusual like the whole house exploding? He hoped not. Mingyu didn’t seem to know anything specific either, he ever only passed a tiny part of his lifespan to his old dog.

Jinki came dumping snow from his shoes onto the mat a few minutes before 3 in the afternoon. Jonghyun greeted him as cheerfully as he could and guided him straight into his bedroom, considering locking up but deciding against as it would be a tiny bit suspicious.

“Give me your hands,” Jonghyun bid him casually, as if he were planning to place a present in Jinki’s palms and not dedicate him most of his lifespan.

Jinki obeyed, unsuspecting. His hands were still cold from the freezing weather outside and Jonghyun felt the warmth of his own dispersing. Holding his breath, Jonghyun squeezed the hands and concentrated on the center of his whole being as he was taught.

“Jonghyun?” Jinki straightened and attempted to pull his hands away.

“Hold still,” Jonghyun hissed with gritted teeth. He did realize it was too risky to do this without Jinki’s consent and he did expect him to retract and struggle but it would be way worse if he had told him for Jinki would never allow it.

Jinki frowned, feeling the tinges of magic brushing his skin, digging deeper. “What are you doing?”

Jonghyun decided to stall for time, not answer right away. He shifted his hands and strengthened his grip. “Just trying something, but you need to stop moving for it to work.”

There was no telling when Jinki wrestles out of Jonghyun’s reach, and so he tried to work fast, sending jolts of magic through his veins, gathering it up. Their eyes met for a split of a second and Jinki’s were full of worry and sudden realization.

That was when Jinki’s hands slipped out. “I won’t let you do this.”

“Do what? I was just experimenting,” Jonghyun pretended.

“Stop.” Jinki glared at him. “I suspected what you’ve been researching for these past few weeks. You’re trying to pass your lifespan to me, aren’t you?”

I’m done for, Jonghyun thought. But he wouldn’t give up. Not just yet. “Listen,” he started matter-of-factly, “we both know that you are valuable for your healing skills. Taemin is valuable for his power. I’m neither and if I could I’d sacrifice my lifespan and heal Taemin myself, but my abilities are nowhere near yours. So I’ll donate magic to you, you heal him and everyone’s happy.”

“Are you joking?” Jinki asked him, his usual carefree attitude gone completely and switched with a menacing aura. “Everyone’s happy? Well so it happens I’m not. I’ll not have you die for me.”

“Who says anything about dying? I’ll keep a few years,” Jonghyun tried out jokingly, but his voice betrayed him and faltered.

Jinki continued piercing him with his gaze, eyebrows furrowed and corners of his lips curled down. “No,” was all he said.

They both knew the other won’t budge and so they just stood there in silence, battling without words. Jonghyun brought up an argument or two but Jinki’s answer was still the same.

Until, finally, Jinki sighed and changed terms. “I will agree only if you promise to give me just half of your lifespan. It should be sufficient and when all’s done, we might have the same amount of years left.”

Although he didn’t like it, Jonghyun was forced to nod and say: “Okay.” There wouldn’t be any other compromise, he knew that. And this was still far better than Jinki dying in the process or being left with just a few years of life.

“I hate it,” Jonghyun spat after a few seconds of palpably glum silence. “I hate that you’re such a prodigy in healing. I hate that Taemin is such an irresponsible dumbass and I hate that I love you both.”

The graveness eased off significantly as Jinki broke into a smile. “Which one of us do you love more?”

Jonghyun frowned at him, at a loss of words how this grim conversation turned into teasing. “Do you really have to ask?”

They both made a step forward, Jinki wrapping arms around Jonghyun’s thin waist and bringing him closer. Their smiles had a tint of sadness to them but it grew weaker by every second they stared at each other, noses almost touching. Jonghyun closed the distance and kissed him lightly once, twice, then went for a deeper kiss that lasted the longest.

“Now give me your hands again,” Jonghyun whispered and stepped back again.

This time, there were no struggles, no argues. Only the weight of one’s life energy shifting into the other and a growing uneasiness settled in their hearts. The years that Jonghyun was giving away were still there, flowing through their joined hands, but soon they won’t be.

Jonghyun had a hard time distinguishing when to stop. He glanced at his wrist but the numbers seemed to change with a slight delay. After some time his mind became less focused and he started feeling weary. At that moment Jinki broke the connection and sat him down on the bed.

“You need to rest,” were the last words Jonghyun had heard before he laid down and drifted off almost immediately.

****  
  


The first thing Jonghyun did when he woke up was look at the numbers. 261823. After a quick checking on his phone, he found out it equals slightly less than 30 years of life. If Jinki ends up using a similar amount for healing Taemin, they won’t be left with that little.

He was alone in the room and it was the dead of the night. Someone covered him in blankets, more than necessary and so Jonghyun kicked half of them off his body in his sleep. Calling Jinki crossed his mind but it was late and he didn’t want to wake him up. It was a big day tomorrow and he needed to rest. So did Jonghyun, who still felt weak, as if he’d just donated litres of blood - and that was a very apt comparison indeed. He drifted off again very soon.

****  
  


Nearly everyone gathered and the small room was too crowded for his liking. Jonghyun would prefer it to be just the five of them - unconscious Taemin, Jinki who’d heal him, Kibum, Minho and himself. They were the closest among the kids there and they’ve shared a lot of memories together. Having all the adults they barely knew around made it feel foreign and rather awkward.

Jinki didn’t seem to perceive any of that, though. Jonghyun watched him sit down by Taemin’s side and calmly place hands on the boy’s scarred arms. A quick look at Jinki’s wrist told him there’s 770097 hours at his disposal. It was a lot, yet he still fretted it might not be enough. For a moment he considered stepping out and stopping the process to give Jinki a little more of his life, just to be sure.

The healing had started. Nothing happened visibly, but all the magic users could feel the energy being poured into the lifeless body. Jonghyun knew Jinki had to heal the disease from inside, so it will take a while before they can see any changes to the peeled skin.

The time dragged. Jonghyun kept fidgeting on the spot, feeling more uneasy with every minute. Jinki’s lifespan was down to 316320 hours when Taemin’s eyes opened and he blinked a few times, looking confused. Jinki smiled at him and Jonghyun could see the weariness taking over him.

“You need to take a break,” Jonghyun decided and right at that moment, Jinki started slipping away. He managed to catch him before the boy fell off the bed and they carried him to the couch at the back of the room together with Minho.

Thankfully, the adults all left then, giving them some time alone. Minho sat next to Taemin now, offering him water and some food. The kid looked visibly healthier, however his skin was still raw and blackish. Kibum settled on the other side of the bed, doing nothing but smiling reassuringly. Jinki was soundly asleep on the couch and Jonghyun watched him, sitting cross-legged on the floor.

He realized Kibum was talking to him only when he heard him shout his name twice.

“I wanted to say,” Kibum told him in whispers after he approached, “that me and Minho could give you guys bits of our lifespan and then we’d all have some decent time ahead.”

Jonghyun shook his head. “I don’t want you to do that,” he refused. The last thing he wanted was to involve more people in this misery and make them all sad and uneasy.

“Wait a second,” Jonghyun interrupted the torrent of his own thoughts. “How do you know about the lifespan?”

“You’re forgetting Minho’s father is the leader here,” Kibum smiled. “So Minho actually knew all along. And he told me a few days ago, even though that’s clearly breaking the rules but honestly, who cares anymore.”

They let Jinki sleep until he woke up on his own, hours later. It was almost dark outside and Jonghyun was dozing off himself, head falling to his chest.

“Hey,” Jinki nudged him gently.

“Hey,” Jonghyun reflected when he woke up abruptly. “You should sleep some more.”

“I’m fine,” said Jinki and patted Jonghyun’s shoulder.

He didn’t look fine but he was obviously determined to finish the healing as soon as possible. Jinki staggered a bit on the way to Taemin and Jonghyun jerked, ready to catch him again if needed. But Jinki balanced himself and took the place on the side of the bed.

“How are you feeling?” he asked Taemin, who slept for a while but now he was awake and sitting up.

“Much better,” the kid confessed, smiling faintly.

“All right then, let’s make it even better than much better.”

The outer part of the healing didn’t take as long. It did not tire Jinki as much, either, even though it ate up much more of his lifespan than Jonghyun predicted. He kept walking here and there as Jinki changed positions in order to reach all body parts that needed healing, checking the number on the healer’s wrist.

The final number equaled roughly 28 years of life. With Jonghyun’s 30, they had about one person’s lifespan between the two of them. While Jinki slept through the evening and half of the next day, Jonghyun did a lot of math. It was the first time he’s ever put so much effort in anything as obnoxious as mathematics but it was worth it. Among other things, he counted that if he hadn’t given Jinki his own lifespan, the boy would have died.


	8. Chapter 8

There was nothing left to do but enjoy the time they had left. It took a couple of days before they felt fully rested, Jonghyun and Jinki tired from life draining and healing, Taemin recovering from the disease. It took weeks to start living their life the way they did before. Not before the horrible incident happened, not before they gave their life away. Before the magic.

Jonghyun came up with the statement a week after Jinki healed Taemin. “We will quit magic. Live casually like any other teenage boy.”

He wasn’t asking, nor suggesting anything. It was a matter of fact and Jonghyun wouldn’t have Jinki say otherwise. No compromises this time.

“I agree,” said Jinki, taking Jonghyun by surprise.

“For real?”

“For real.”

“Wow.” Jonghyun was speechless. He had a series of arguments and persuasive monologues ready and now he felt a bit dumbfounded. “Okay then. Let’s be normal teenagers.”

It wasn’t as easy as he thought. Magic had been with them for three or four years and that is a very long time when you are a teenager. Most of their afternoons and weekends were spent at the magic classroom or outside experimenting with magic.

Jonghyun did try one last time, out of a habit rather than a saying goodbye to magic, although after he did so it was nice to think of it that way. It was an early morning and he was getting ready for school, when he spilt his coffee and automatically waved his hand above to make it dry out. Seconds later his odd wristwatch showed one digit lower number. Jonghyun wondered if it started dropping naturally or if giving half his lifespan away triggered it.

Either way it was only another reason not to use magic anymore. They were sixteen and had little less than thirty years ahead. That wasn’t little, but it wasn’t all right either.

  
  


Half a year later they met in front of the library again and it felt both fantastic and odd at the same time. The two of them borrowed books from their school libraries and didn’t really go to this one unless it was for the magic classes. This time was the same. Although they weren’t magicians-to-be anymore, Jonghyun wanted to visit old friends. And do one more thing, which simply needed to be done here.

“I’m kinda nervous,” Jonghyun confessed as Jinki typed in a code and the locked door opened up, leading them into the narrow hallway.

“You expect to find Tae in another seizure, possibly after trying to resurrect a whole army of skeletons?”

“Not funny,” Jonghyun deadpanned. “I don’t really know. I guess I just don’t wanna go in because I know I’ll feel like I’m back home.”

It was exactly that feeling when they entered the classroom, lit only by candles magically floating above. Right in front of them, there was a huge banner with glittering words that spelled _Welcome back._ There was a cake too, and Jonghyun had a sudden urge to take the plate and smash it against Kibum’s face that was smiling at him.

“Well,” Jinki said while Jonghyun still contemplated a revenge for this not very fortunate idea, “the cake’s nice.”

Jonghyun turned to him, raising his eyebrows.

“But,” Jinki faltered, “we didn’t really come back.”

“Yeah, we’re here just to say hi so cut the crap and get rid of all this, please.” It came out harsher than Jonghyun intended but he really didn’t need any welcoming banner and all the stuff that made him even more guilty and sad for ever leaving this place.

“Not the cake though,” Jinki hurried to add. “We’ll eat the cake.”

  
  


When they were done talking to everyone, enjoying the cake and watching their friends do the stuff the two of them will never attempt anymore, Jonghyun lead Jinki out through the back door. The small room used by researchers and shortly as an infirmary for Taemin was now transformed into a sort of a storeroom. There were rows of unused furniture, stacks of dust-covered books.

Jonghyun jumped up on one of the desks, legs swinging in the air. “What happened here?”

“I’ve heard they made a new research center in the basement,” answered Jinki when he settled next to him. “Bigger one and with far more functions. They seem to be taking the research much seriously now.”

“No wonder after what happened,” Jonghyun mused. “It was top secret but everyone in the classroom seems to know, both about what Taemin did and about the whole lifespan thing. Lots of kids left already too.”

“I bet Taemin told everyone,” Jinki laughed.

It was most likely true. Jonghyun could imagine the kid going around boasting he survived such a terrible thing and how awesome Jinki was in healing him. They never told him the whole truth. Taemin knew Jinki had to drain his lifespan to save his life, but he had no idea how much and that Jonghyun was part of it too.

“There’s something I want to do,” Jonghyun said after a while and reached for Jinki’s hands.

“Oh not this again,” Jinki groaned but let his palms rest in Jonghyun’s hands. “What experiment is it this time?”

“We quit magic, remember?”

“My dad quit drinking but he consumes a bottle of soju everyday,” Jinki threw as a response, making Jonghyun giggle.

“Really though. I wanted to do it here exactly because we quit magic and because it would feel like cheating if we did it outside. I want to give you a bit of my lifespan because we should have exactly the same amount of years and hours.”

The idea resided in Jonghyun’s mind since the whole healing process took place. But a few days and weeks afterwards they felt too exhausted. A lot of stuff happened in their real lives and with the rule of not using magic, Jonghyun kept postponing it. It was partly also because he knew Jinki wouldn’t like the idea.

Whether he did or not, Jinki decided to agree anyway. “I think you’re right. Although it sucks we’ll live shorter, everything’s better in two. Dying included.”

Jinki laughed at that and Jonghyun thought that was the saddest joke Jinki has ever made. With his permission, Jonghyun did the familiar process of transferring his lifespan, the energy flowing through his hands into Jinki’s. It took just a few seconds and their numbers were now equal.

“I’d give you the remains of my lifespan if you asked,” Jonghyun said, still holding the older boy’s hands.

“And what would I do with them?” Jinki inquired, a hint of a smile playing upon his lips.

“Heal,” was Jonghyun’s answer. “Heal and help, but mostly enjoy the life a little longer, start a family maybe.”

“That’s all nice but how could I start a family with someone who’d be dead?”

It didn’t click in Jonghyun’s head right away and he was about to ask the meaning of that statement. But then it did. And it made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside, because this might as well had been a proposal, in a very Jinki way.

“Yes,” Jonghyun said in the end and he wasn’t sure Jinki understood that but at the same time he knew he did.

“I wasn’t asking a question you can answer with yes or no,” started Jinki, “but as a matter of fact thank you for accepting me.”

It was all a very odd conversation but that’s just how they were, how they had always been. And how, hopefully, they will always be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> phew, that took a lot of time. I feel as though it should've been longer and that there's so much stuff I didn't say - I do that all the time while writing. I have a whole bunch of rules and stuff about the magic community - heck I even have each of the teachers and researcher names even though I used like what, two? But either way, I hope you guys liked it and I appreciate kudos and comments very much ;__;
> 
> (out of all the things I didn't manage to say in the fic, I liked this one: the reason Jinki healed Taemin's disease while touching his arms is that they are a gateway to the body. The veins on wrists are most visible, and magic flows through veins, so it's the fastest way to reach the whole body.)
> 
> ((ah, and I believe I also failed to note how Minho's father actually owns the whole library and that's why he could build a hidden classroom, with the coded door and everything.))
> 
> I should note to not use just my forgetful brain but also write down more notes and actually look at them while writing, hah.


End file.
